They were beating the drums so hard in Newtownards, County Down, you could almost have heard them in Downing Street.
Loyalists are taking to the streets of Northern Ireland on an almost weekly basis to demand Boris Johnson scraps the Irish Sea border.
Jamie Bryson organised this rally. A loyalist close to the thinking of some paramilitaries, he says the government has a choice to make.
Image: The loyalist protesters are opposed to the idea of a border in the Irish Sea
Mr Bryson said: “It says on the banner peace or the protocol, it’s your choice. They can listen or they cannot listen.
“But if they want to have peace and stability in Northern Ireland, then they’re going to have to make a change to the partition of the United Kingdom.”
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Asked about the danger of bringing people onto the streets, he said it was more dangerous to partition the UK.
“If unionism don’t stand now and don’t take to the streets now, then what else do they do?” he asked.
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The UK and EU agreed to put the Northern Ireland Protocol in place to avoid the introduction of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit.
At the rally on Friday, platform speakers like Baroness Hoey said the protocol threatened the Good Friday Agreement rather than protected it.
Image: Baroness Hoey said the protocol threatened the Good Friday Agreement
The sea border has left this community feeling isolated from the rest of the United Kingdom, their British identity under threat.
Heather Ramsay, who attended the protest, said: “We have to get rid of the protocol. The protocol must go. It’s diluting our unionism with Britain.
“We’re feeling very alone, we’re feeling as if we’ve been abandoned, we’re feeling as if nobody wants us to be part of them.”
Loyalists view the sea border as appeasement – the EU’s response to threats of republican violence in the event of a border on this island.
But that’s created the dangerous impression that violence or the threat of it brings reward.
Hazel Officer, another participant in the rally, said: “The other side have got everything they wanted by causing mayhem, fear and death.
“Maybe it’s about time we thought about doing the same. I certainly am willing to give my life for it.”
Image: Heather Ramsay said the unionist community is ‘feeling very alone’
These people did not expect Brexit to result in an Irish Sea border and feel betrayed by the the prime minister.
That has left unionist parties, like the DUP, boxed in with no room for any compromise to save devolved government.
In other words, Brexit and its consequences could signal the end of power-sharing at Stormont, leaving a dangerous political vacuum.
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Image: Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Image: Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Image: Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Image: Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Image: Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Image: Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Image: Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Image: Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Image: Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Image: Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
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There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Kemi Badenoch has not ruled out forming coalitions at a local level with Reform after the council elections next week.
Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, the Conservative leader did however categorically rule out a pact with Nigel Farage’s party on a national level.
“I am not going into any coalition with Nigel Farage… read my lips,” she said.
However, she did not deny that deals could be struck with Reform at a local level, arguing that some councils might be under no overall control and in that case, “you have to do what is right for your local area”.
“You look at the moment, we are in coalition with Liberal Democrats, with independents,” she said. “We’ve been in coalition with Labour before at local government level.
“They [councillors] have to look at who the people are that they’re going into coalition with and see how they can deliver for local people.”
She added: “What I don’t want to hear is talks of stitch-ups or people planning things before the results are out. They have to do what is right for their communities.”
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A total of 23 councils are up for grabs when voters go to the polls on Thursday 1 May – mostly in places that were once deemed Tory shires, until last year’s general election.
It includes 14 county councils, all but two of which have been Conservative-controlled, as well as eight unitary authorities, all but one of which are Tory.
Ms Badenoch has set expectations low for the Tories, suggesting they could lose all the councils they are contesting.
The last time this set of councils were up for election was in 2021, when the Conservative Party was led by Boris Johnson who was riding high from the COVID vaccine bounce.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.